Country Style – September 2019

OUTINTHENATUR ALWORLD—wherepeopleareknown

tovotefortheShooters,FishersandFarmersParty—

manyspecieshavenaturalenemies.Thefoxisthenatural

enemyoftherabbit.Thehawkisthenaturalenemyof

therodent.And,ofcourse,theWaterMinisteristhe

naturalenemyoftheMurraycod.

Andnowithascometothis.AJapaneseauthornamed

MarieKondohasbecomethenaturalenemyoftherural

hoarder.‘Ruralhoarder’isactuallysomethingofa

tautologybecauseifyou’rerural,you’rea hoarder.Just

lookaroundtheaveragefarmhouse.Everybitofagricultural

machinerythathaseverserveditsownerwellisgiven

a permanentmemorialsomewhereinthehomepaddock.

It’sa markofrespect.

ButnowMarieKondohasemergedasaninternational

patronsaintofdeclutter.Shehasbecomefamousthrough

herbooksTheLife-ChangingMagicofTidyingUpand

SparkJoy. Andhermessageshavebeenjoyfullyembraced

byTheChosenOne,whosepersonalmottohaslongbeen

“tidyupasyougoalong”.

InthewakeofMarieKondo’sinvitationfortheworld

toparticipatein“tidyingadventures”,a profusionofbuy,

swapandsellsiteshaveeruptedontheinternet.Theseare

drivenbypeoplewhohavebeentouchedbythehandofthe

patronsaintandbeenmovedtooffergenerationsofcurios,

knick-knacksand—let’sbetruthful here—garbage,

toothersalsoindecluttermode.

TheChosenOneisina frenzy

ofjoyfulexcitementaboutallthis

andhastakentospending

daylighttoduskontidying

adventures.Andsureenough,out

againstthevegetablegardenfenceshelocatedan

implement,variouslyknownasa handploughora walking

plough,whichsheconsideredsomethingofa prize.

“Vintagefarmmachineryisverysoughtafterasgarden

ornaments,”shedeclared.

Amongthoseoutherewhohavenotyetembracedvows

ofKondo-ismarevintagetractorandfarmmachinery

enthusiasts.SoI devoteda teabreaktosomeresearch.

Aninspectionoftheploughrevealedthatitwasmadeby

a companycalledHampton.Eventually,onanAmerican

farmmachinerysite,I foundmentionoftheHampton

ManufacturingCompanyofHampton,Nebraska,whose

productsincludedearlyploughsandmanurespreaders.

“Notwidelyknowntomany,”saidthesite,“forHampton

was a small manufacturer serving a fairly local market.”

YetherewastheHamptonNo2 residingatCobbora

15 kilometresfromDunedooand 30 kilometresfromElong

ElongintheCentralWesternSlopesofNewSouthWales.

TwocupsoftealaterI washooked.AndI delvedagaininto

AmericanwriterRonaldJager’sgreatbookEightyAcres

—anelegyforhisfamily’sfarm.Intheearly20thcentury,

80 acreswasconsideredthelimitthatcouldbeefficiently

farmedbyonefarmerandtwohorses.

Drivinga teamofhorsesisa basic,

gentlepleasure,especiallyf lattering

toa farmboy’sself-image,hewrote.

Thehorsesknewwhatjobtheywere

doing,theyknewthewaytocarrythe

sleighandtheypickedupquicklyonthedullfactthatthey

shouldfollowthefurrows,therows,theruts,walkslowly,

turnaroundattheend,stand,orwhatever.Thehorseshave

thebitintheirmouthsandtheyknowexactlywhatis

expectedofthem.Youngandspiritedhorseswillsensethat

theboy’stugonthereinsandthevoiceattheendofthem

lackauthority,andthatsometimespromptsthemtoignore

thedriver;theymightsimplyturnandheadforthebarn.

Veteranhorsesaremorepredictable,merelystoppingnow

andthentoseeifanybodyispayingattention.

Meanwhile,a hugetractorwithair-conditionedcab,

advancedGPSguidancesystemandmassivedischarrows

trundlesaroundourbottompaddock.Efficient,revolutionary

technology.Wherehastheromanceoffarminggone?

Ah, yes: the Hampton No 2 is back beside the fence.

SPARK IN G J OY

ROBINGRAMLEARNSANIMPORTANT

LESSONINDECLUTTERING:SOME THINGS

JUST SHOULDN’T BE TIDIED UP.

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

MICHAEL WEE

BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY

SAM

M

cADAM-COOPER

STYLING

PHOEBE

M

cEVOY

COUNTRY SQUIRE

AJAPANESEAUTHOR

NAMEDMARIEKONDOHAS

BECOMETHENATURALENEMY^

OF THE RURAL HOARDER.

154 COU NTRY ST Y LESEPTEMBER 2019